Netflix invited a reporter to its Los Gatos headquarters for an unprecedented glimpse at the technical preparations that go into the release of its original programming. The shows have become the foundation of Netflix's push to build an Internet counterpart to HBO's premium cable channel.

Firing a Shrek-size salvo over rival Amazon's bow, video-streaming service Netflix said Monday that it was teaming up with DreamWorks Animation SKG to air new shows and movie releases, further altering the television-viewing landscape as viewers increasingly look to the Web for entertainment.

A yearslong effort to build more office space for Netflix in the Silicon Valley town it has always called home received approval Monday night, though the new office complex will be smaller than originally proposed.

Depending on whom you ask, Netflix is either a company that's poised for a remarkable resurgence or a washed-up has-been whose best days are behind it. While both sides have a legitimate case to make, corporate raider Carl Icahn is betting on a rebound.

Netflix, a Silicon Valley favorite for investors a few months ago with a stock price topping $300 in July, fell below $80 Tuesday morning after the company announced the loss of 800,000 subscribers in just three months.

Yielding to uproar from customers and shareholders alike, Netflix announced Monday that it won't, after all, split off its DVD service and rename it Qwikster. Instead of launching an all-new Web site for DVD customers, Netflix will maintain one site for both its streaming and DVD services.

A decision to split the company's DVD rental business into a separate business unit is a terrible move that will alienate the loyalty of customers like me. In trying to avoid the classic mistake of clinging too tightly to an old business model, Netflix just may be making a bigger one.

Netflix is preparing for the day when getting DVDs by mail is as old-fashioned as going to the video store. It's hoping to wean people from DVDs with an $8-a-month plan that offers movies and old TV episodes exclusively through online streaming.

The online movie rental company has done an outstanding job of tying pay to performance. The result is that I can say CEO Reed Hastings is deserving of the wealth the company's rising stock price is bringing his way.

The economy has been slumping for more than a year, and most businesses are suffering. But Los Gatos-based Netflix has enjoyed steadily rising sales, earnings and subscribers. The company is benefitting from consumers' desire for cheap entertainment, which has been undiminished — and perhaps enhanced — by the downturn, analysts say.

On Monday, Netflix posted astonishing earnings in a dismal economy. Many of us may have underestimated not just how innovative this company is, but how well managed it is. So let's give Netflix its due as one of the most successful dot-coms created so far.

Preparing for the eventual extinction of its DVD-by-mail rental service, Netflix on Tuesday introduced its first solution for subscribers who want entertainment delivered directly to their television sets with just a few clicks on a remote control.